


but i'm a cheerleader

by tonicgins



Series: the ittybitty verse [2]
Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: F/F, High School AU, Inspired by Glee, also inspired by but im a cheerleader duh, cottagecore gays, film photography is expensive, happens a year after ibtc, photographer! hyejoo, softball! gowon, sooyoung actually a hag here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:48:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25186672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tonicgins/pseuds/tonicgins
Summary: Hyejoo comes up with an interesting idea for a photography project. Chaewon has no choice but to oblige her.
Relationships: Park Chaewon | Go Won/Son Hyejoo | Olivia Hye
Series: the ittybitty verse [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1824559
Comments: 3
Kudos: 79





	but i'm a cheerleader

**Author's Note:**

> this is a part of the ittybitty verse and it takes place a year after the events of the main fic! a very self-indulgent oneshot where hyejoo and chaewon are definitely a couple lol keep your eyes peeled for any tiny spoilers for the main fic & please enjoy!

Something felt distinctly different about the photographs that were spread out across the work desk in front of her. 

Hyejoo’s fingers gently shifted the photos around, trying to make sense of what theme she was even working towards for the assignment. It had been a bold decision for her - choosing to shoot her final term project on 35mm film instead of her usual trusty digital cameras. Not only did she have to juggle the complexities of shooting on film, but she had to pick up extra shifts at her mom’s cafe to actually afford the amount of film she was burning through. 

“What the hell is exposure even? What’s the point of using the damn lightmeter if it can’t even accurately measure the amount of light?” Hyejoo groaned as she looked at the heap of photographs which were in utter disarray. It was hell to figure out how to get the photos to look as good as she could usually get them, especially since she couldn’t digitally process any of them. She shivered at the memory of her developing a whole roll the week before, only to realise that the exposure on all the pictures was terrible. In one photo, what was supposed to be Yerim writing an article in the yearbook editorial room looked more like a scene out of a B-grade horror film. 

At one corner, she spotted a picture she had taken of her family going about their daily lives in the living room. Her sister playing with their puppy, her mom and dad cuddled on the sofa watching yet another historical drama. In the other corner, a picture of Chaewon and her teammates in the middle of a huddle. It had been a particularly tough game that day - the weather had been unpredictable and they were down by three home runs against the other team. Luckily, a pep talk from Sooyoung had managed to reinvigorate the team who managed to win with just one extra point against their opponents. 

Just earlier that day, Ms Bae, Hyejoo’s favourite art teacher, had come over to personally advise her on the theme of her final term project. “Hyejoo, I’ve got to be honest. Right now, I don’t see any clear, cohesive theme in your photographs. Obviously, they’re gorgeous  _ as usual _ \- But gorgeous isn’t enough to get you the A you really deserve,” Ms Bae calmly advised as she did a once-over of the photographs laid out on Hyejoo’s work desk. 

“Ms Bae, I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. Honestly, I’ve tried my best to take pictures of everything that I thought would be interesting… and still,” Hyejoo waved her hand at the pile. Ms Bae paused to scrutinise a few specific pictures, specifically the ones that Hyejoo had taken of her family and Chaewon. 

“I see that you two are… Very good friends…” Ms Bae began as she gave Hyejoo a gleeful side-eye, “Why don’t you come up with a theme first? Here’s food for thought - Work along the lines of capturing things and people you love. Try to understand why you love these people, these things, these places and use these to your advantage when it comes to the whole theme of the project. I’m looking forward to your next draft, alright? You’ve got this, Hyejoo!” She patted Hyejoo on the back and flashed her a thumbs-up sign before she exited the room hastily, presumably to find Ms Kang in the breakroom and squeal over the photos of Chaewon that Hyejoo had taken. 

Leaving the pile of photographs behind, the photographer walked to the other side of the art room. Sliding open the door to the dry cabinet, she peered inside to take stock of the rolls of film she had left. “Alright, let’s see. Three rolls of Fujifilm, One roll of Portra… Huh, four rolls of Ilford…” She rambled as she shifted the rolls about, making sure she didn’t accidentally leave one in the corner to go out of date. 

In the middle of her monotonous stock take, she felt a pair of warm hands reach around her as they came to rest in front of her. Even without turning around, the familiar scent of soft peaches alerted her to Chaewon’s presence. The arms around her tightened as Chaewon leaned further forward to rest her cheek against Hyejoo’s back.

“Oli, why are you still here? It’s getting late…” Chaewon mumbled into Hyejoo’s back as she tugged on the corner of Hyejoo’s t-shirt impatiently. Promptly shutting the dry cabinet, Hyejoo turned to wrap her arms around the waist of her girlfriend. 

The shorter girl seemed to instantly sink into her embrace, holding onto her tightly as she continued to look up at Hyejoo with pleading eyes. “Let’s go home… Get dinner on the way, maybe?” Chaewon looked at Hyejoo hopefully, lacing her fingers with Hyejoo’s as she gently intertwined their hands at their sides. Hyejoo’s eyes shifted back and forth between Chaewon and the stack of photographs behind them. 

Pulling away from Chaewon with their hands still intertwined, she gently pulled Chaewon along with her to the heap of photographs. “Chae, what do you think of these?” Hyejoo brought her free hand up to her lips as she bit down on the knuckle of her index finger in hesitation. 

The blonde paused as she took her time admiring the photographs taken by her talented girlfriend. There were so many pictures of her that she had barely even realised were being taken. Most of them were of her during her softball matches, but there were others that felt oddly domestic. Chaewon spacing out as she stared at something in the distance through a cafe window, Chaewon’s side profile as she slept soundly against the side of the bus, Chaewon smiling with a large maple leaf she had found in the park near their houses. A small, sentimental smile began to form on her face as she felt her lower lip wobble with an upwelling of emotions from deep within her. 

“This is so embarrassing… Argh, I probably overdid the number of photos with you in them. If you don’t like any of them, I’ll just get rid of them,” Hyejoo looked away from the table desperately, unable to watch her girlfriend staring at the vast amount of pictures of herself. Suddenly, she felt Chaewon pulling her into a tight embrace.

“ _ I lurbf daem sew munch, Oh-Lee _ ,” Chaewon mumbled into Hyejoo’s shoulder as she held back her tears. Seeing all the photographs of her made her realise the depth of Hyejoo’s affection for her, the depth of which allowed Hyejoo to see her in ways that nobody else could even aspire towards. She felt it whenever she saw any of Hyejoo’s photographs, not just those with her as the subject, a certain emotionally evocative quality that made her feel all warm and sentimental inside. 

Hyejoo raised a hand to gently smooth the back of Chaewon’s head, her other hand resting limply around the shorter girl’s waist. “So, you don’t hate that I took so many pictures of you?” Hyejoo asked as she watched Chaewon pull back in shock. 

Chaewon raised a small clenched fist to playfully punch Hyejoo in the shoulder, “Of course not, you dummy! I love them… I love  _ you _ . It makes me so happy to see these. They show me something you can’t bring yourself to show me and that’s what is so special about them.”

The taller girl tilted her head, “And  _ what _ is it I’m not showing you?”

“You know… The way you find it hard to express your affection in front of everyone else and the way you can’t even say ‘I love you’ without flinching because you hate to admit it,” Chaewon said this with an air of indifference as she found ways to look anywhere besides directly at Hyejoo. Chaewon suddenly found herself flush against Hyejoo, back against the edge of the wooden table as the taller girl tilted her head down to meet Chaewon’s ear. 

“Park Chaewon, if I’ve ever made it less than obvious that I’m in love with you, I’d hate myself. So, I’m telling you right now. I love you. I love you so much.” Hyejoo’s warm breath tickled the side of Chaewon’s jaw as she felt Hyejoo’s fingers tense around her waist. Her breath hitched as Hyejoo pulled away from her ear and leaned her head in to place a kiss at the corner of Chaewon’s lips. A furiously red blush had spread across her cheeks as Chaewon suddenly became oddly cognisant of the way they were positioned. Both of Hyejoo’s hands were placed firmly on the table, trapping her between as their bodies were almost flush against one another. 

With a satisfied hum, Hyejoo pulled away and began to sweep the photographs into a pile. “Anyways, you were right. I think the janitor is going to come around to lock up the art room soon, we should probably leave. Dinner at that little diner near our houses?” Hyejoo asked as if nothing had happened. 

Chaewon stood up straight on shaky knees as she nodded as if in a daze, “Yeah, sounds good.” Hyejoo slipped on her messenger bag and readjusted the glasses on the tip of her sharp nose as she turned to take Chaewon’s hand in hers. 

“You suck, Son Hyejoo.”

“Yeah? And you swallow.  _ What? _ ”

“You suck for doing all that to me and denying me a hot makeout session!” Chaewon whined, feeling herself heat up as she instantly regretted her words. 

Hyejoo paused in her tracks to let out a chuckle, “Who said I was going to deny you a  _ hot makeout session _ ?”

Chaewon could only yelp as she let Hyejoo pull her down the hallway and into an empty classroom. 

\-- 

To Hyejoo, it was a treasure to be able to hang around on campus until the sun began to set. She loved the way she could watch the sun set slowly into a pool of honey and vermillion, its rays creeping across the length of the school track until it ventured over the bleachers and disappeared completely. 

“Hmm, I don’t think I’ll ever tire of this. This is what I’m gonna miss most when we graduate in a year,” Yerim mused as she leaned her back against Hyejoo’s arm and pulled her phone out of her pocket to take a picture of the sun setting over the track. Hyejoo nodded in agreement as she shifted positions to rest her weight on her palm as she pulled both her legs onto the bleachers. 

Yerim pulled her hair into a ponytail, loosely tugging two strands out at the front for good measure as she balanced her phone on her thigh. “You know what, I think I  _ actually _ miss your purple hair now. It was different,” Hyejoo extended a hand to lift a strand of Yerim’s hair up, holding the light brown strands up against the sunlight. 

“Yeah, as they always say, right? No one ever appreciates a good thing till it’s gone,” Yerim sighed dramatically as she turned to pout at Hyejoo. The photographer rolled her eyes in disgust and swatted Yerim away as she turned to squint in the direction of the softball field. Even from across the track, she could see the familiar tinge of blonde in the difference bobbing along as Chaewon ran the bases. 

Spying Hyejoo’s sickeningly sweet gaze, Yerim tutted, “I can never decide if I love or hate the fact that you guys are finally together. You and Chae are so  _ goddamn  _ adorable, but also so gross at the same time.”

The two girls were waiting for Chaewon to finish up her softball training before they could all head over to Yerim’s place together for their weekly dinner and movie marathon arrangement. It was Yerim’s turn to choose a movie that night and she had ever-predictably chosen her favourite movie series again. 

Unfortunately, that meant Hyejoo and Chaewon were in charge of buying the snacks and they had definitely overestimated the amount of popcorn they could eat within the span of all eight of the Harry Potter movies. “How was I supposed to know that the corn expanded when it popped?” Chaewon had defended as she crossed her arms in defiance. Yerim let out a strangled groan in response, “How does that explain why you had to buy ten bags of dried corn and not a single stick of butter? Hyejoo! Why didn’t you stop her?”

After what seemed like forever, Hyejoo and Yerim finally heard the piercing sound of a whistle as Coach Moon released the girls from training. They stood up from the benches on the bleachers and slung their backpacks back on as they made their way down the steps. Yerim bounded down the steps, lightly hopping down the bleachers two steps at a time as Hyejoo took short, heavy steps behind her. The pair quickly made their way across the field where Chaewon was waving excitedly at them. As they got closer, Chaewon came running at them at full-speed. Hyejoo wheezed as Chaewon barrelled into her, knocking the both of them off their feet as they fell into the soft astroturf in the centre of the track. 

“Hi, I missed you.”

Hyejoo patted Chaewon gingerly on her back, “Yeah, me too.”

The now-brunette shook her head and made an exaggerated gagging sound as she watched the couple stare into each other’s eyes as they lay on the astroturf. “Someone  _ please  _ remind me why I decided to be best friends with this school’s token cottagecore lesbian couple. God, it is so hard to be heterosexual in this economy,” Yerim sighed as she watched Chaewon sprinkle astroturf over Hyejoo. It really never ceased to amaze her how much of a lame simp Hyejoo really was for Chaewon. 

\--

Mrs Choi was a good cook. No,  _ scratch that _ . Mrs Choi could have given Gordon Ramsey a run for his money. Chaewon’s eyes gleamed as she looked at all of the food that Yerim’s mom had prepared for them. It was, quite literally, a feast. A steaming tray of baked mac and cheese, a plate full of colourful sushi, a bunch of tiny cut sandwiches and cocktail sausages, another tray of brownies baked with M&Ms and pretzels and Chaewon’s personal favourite - dino nuggets. 

“Funny how Gordon Ramsey has been  _ real quiet  _ ever since your mom made this feast,” Chaewon wiggled her eyebrows at Yerim as she gestured at the spread that was on the table. Hyejoo agreed, she had never met anyone else who could make a baked mac and cheese as good as Mrs Choi. 

“Oh, Chae… How naive of you, the real feast has been right under your nose this whole time!” Yerim extended a hand to caress Chaewon’s cheek, which was promptly flicked away by Hyejoo. Bored of teasing her friends, Yerim picked a dino nugget up from the table as she turned around to yell into the kitchen, “MOM! CHAEWON SAYS YOU WOULD MAKE GORDON RAMSEY JOBLESS WITH YOUR COOKING!” 

“TELL HER THANK YOU AND ALSO I HOPE YOU GIRLS HAVE FUN WATCHING THOSE MOVIES ABOUT THE WIZARD BOY AGAIN!” Mrs Choi yelled back. Yerim flinched at the words ‘wizard boy’ as she began to stack food onto her plate, “And that’s the cue for us to eat in the living room!” 

\-- 

Somewhere in the middle of  _ ‘Harry Potter and the Order of The Phoenix’ _ , Yerim had dozed off with their second bowl of popcorn in her arms. Hyejoo and Chaewon were on the opposite end of the sofa, Chaewon now completely in Hyejoo’s arms as she rested her cheek against Hyejoo’s shoulder comfortably. 

The night had begun with the girls comfortably spaced apart, Yerim, Chaewon and Hyejoo in a straight row with the large bowl of popcorn in Chaewon’s lap. For the first two movies, Yerim was hyped. In fact, she was so energised that she could barely contain her squeals every time one of her favourite characters appeared on screen, grasping tightly at Chaewon’s arm to steady herself. 

“Tom Felton was  _ so  _ adorable in this! God, he’s so precious and tiny here! Ugh!” Yerim was on the edge of her seat, pointing dramatically at the screen and whooping constantly. Hyejoo sat in her corner of the sofa, arms crossed as she occasionally reached into Chaewon’s lap to grab a fistful of popcorn. “How have you not been banned from like, literally every cinema in this town yet?” Hyejoo asked as she watched Yerim with a side-eye. “Hey, it’s not my fault you can't appreciate fine art as I do!” Yerim shot back as she threw a few pieces of popcorn in Hyejoo’s face. 

Watching her two best friends bicker next to her, Chaewon felt oddly at peace. The knowledge that her life was currently in perfect harmony was always so reassuring and she vowed to thoroughly cherish every moment she could spend with her dumbass best friends. Smiling mischievously, Chaewon reached into the popcorn bowl and grabbed a few pieces of popcorn. “Actually, Tom Felton  _ was  _ kind of cute in this one… No?” She said teasingly, as she blew the popcorn off her palm and into Hyejoo’s face. It was always amusing to her, the way Hyejoo got jealous over the weirdest things. 

“Can’t say I agree, he’s about just as hot as a mole rat in this one,” Hyejoo huffed as she turned away from Chaewon and stuffed her mouth with a brownie crossly. Chaewon hummed, “You’re so cute when you’re mad at nothing. And for the record, I would date you  _ even _ if you were a mole rat.” She leaned into Hyejoo to pinch her cheek as she giggled at the sight of Hyejoo slowly turning pink. 

“Shut up,” Hyejoo mumbled barely over a whisper.

By the time they had reached  _ ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’ _ , both Chaewon and Hyejoo could see Yerim’s eyelids flickering like the one faulty stage light in the gymnasium. She had hogged the popcorn bowl sometime in the middle of the third movie, claiming that the popcorn was helping to keep her awake. 

“Hey, Yerim… Do you want us to pause the movie? We can all just go to sleep if you wan-” Chaewon was cut off by Yerim pushing a finger to her lips.

“Shhhh… Cedric’s speaking!” Yerim hissed as she continued to sleepily squint at the TV while Hyejoo snorted and rolled her eyes. Chaewon shifted her weight towards Hyejoo’s side of the sofa, tucking herself comfortably into the space between Hyejoo’s chest and her arm. Hyejoo was warm and safe, she always felt like home. 

The taller girl’s legs were slanted off the side of the sofa as she leaned over to pull Chaewon closer to her. Letting her arms rest around Chaewon’s waist, she continued to watch the movie with a renewed interest. Chaewon, on the other hand, was all too aware of the way Hyejoo’s fingers were tickling her sides over the fabric of her shirt. Hyejoo had always had unintentionally naughty hands or maybe, it was just Chaewon’s overactive imagination. Willing herself to focus on the movie, the blonde tucked herself into the crook of her girlfriend’s neck and focussed her gaze on the movie. 

\--

After they had successfully managed to pry the popcorn bowl from Yerim’s hands, carefully lift her off the sofa, balance her on Hyejoo’s shoulders and quietly bring her to bed, the couple sat at the foot of Yerim’s bed side by side. There was a comfortable silence between them as they sat there, knees to their chests as they stared at the bookshelf opposite them. 

Hyejoo let out a quiet, hesitant sigh, “Chae, I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep tonight.”

“Why?” 

“Had a chat with Ms Bae yesterday about my final term project.”

“Ah, you mean your ‘Park Chaewon appreciation project’? What about it?” Chaewon’s tone edged on teasing as she scooted closer to Hyejoo, pressing her front into the other girl’s arm as she reached over to play with Hyejoo’s fingers. 

Hyejoo scoffed, “Whatever you say… Anyways, she said it was too messy, that it felt incomplete. Something about how the photographs lacked a clear theme and my train of thought being all over the place. It’s been bothering me too, to be honest.”

“Oh, Oli. You need to stop being such a perfectionist, your photos looked great - they’ve always been. Maybe you just need to get yourself into the right headspace? Find your creative rhythm again?”

“Hmm, I sort of thought of a solution yesterday. Hear me out - but Ms Bae actually really liked the pictures I took of my family… and of you. I’m not sure my mom would appreciate me pointing a camera in her face all the time and my sister would actually  _ murder  _ me if she knew I took pictures of her in secret for a project. So… That kind of leaves you?”

Chaewon paused, “You want to genuinely make your final term project a ‘Park Chaewon appreciation project’, is that it?” 

The photographer could detect the disbelief in her girlfriend’s voice, “I mean I’m not saying it has to be that way - but I definitely considered it? It wouldn’t have to be all pictures of you. I was thinking more along the lines of a photo journal which kind of followed our… friendship?” Hyejoo’s lips curled into an insinuating smile as she dragged out the last word of the sentence. 

“Ha ha. I’m sure Ms Bae wouldn’t be amused by a photo collection of the supply closet, Hyejoo.”

Hyejoo looked over at her, “Funny double standards you have there because the last time I checked,  _ you _ were very excited by the idea of a supply closet. Anyways, I’m pretty sure Ms Bae and Ms Kang talk about us all the time during their  _ dates  _ in the teachers’ lounge. Ms Kang always looks at me funny during gym lessons…” 

In the darkness, Hyejoo could sense Chaewon’s cheeks reddening as the older girl hid her head in her knees and peeked at her shyly. “Ugh, stop…” Chaewon whined as she fanned herself desperately. She cocked her head to look Hyejoo in the eyes, trying her best to make out the features of her girlfriend’s face under the dimness of moonlight and the blinking fairy lights of Yerim’s bedroom. 

“I’m serious, be my muse.” Hyejoo declared firmly, her hand shooting from her lap to Chaewon’s cheek as she ran a thumb across the older girl’s cheekbones, down to the curve of her lips. She let her thumb linger on Chaewon’s bottom lip as she watched for any sort of response.

Chaewon sighed as she leaned closer and linked her hands behind Hyejoo’s neck. Her breath was slowing, every new breath slow and drawn-out as she sucked in her cheek. She leaned into Hyejoo, lips on the verge of resting on the cusp of Hyejoo’s ear as her warm breath sent shivers down the younger girl’s spine. 

“Two conditions. One, don’t use cheesy words like ‘muse’ ever again. Two, kiss me like you mean it on our best friend’s bedroom floor,” Chaewon lowly whispered as she ran her fingers across the back of Hyejoo’s neck. 

Hyejoo chuckled, “Yerim’s never going to invite us over ever again.”

\--

It was now Heejin’s turn to hear the infamous story from Yerim. Chaewon watched in shame as Heejin’s face visibly turned shades as she attempted to keep up with Yerim’s overly-dramatic retelling of how she had discovered that her best friends had rudely defiled her bedroom floor. 

“So there I was, barbecue sauce on my titties. Well, actually I was just chilling in the editorial room. Anyways, Hyejoo came in with her folder of photographs and that thing was heaped with prints. So, I was like ‘Hey! Do you need some help with that?’ and she literally jumped when she heard me. Now, that made me a little suspicious of her but I wasn’t about to jump to any conclusions yet. And THEN, I saw it. You guys  _ traumatised  _ me!” Yerim squawked in horror as she pointed an accusatory finger at Chaewon and Hyejoo. 

The photographer waved her off nonchalantly as she threw a french fry into her mouth, “Psh, stop over-exaggerating. It was WEEKS ago and plus, it wasn’t even  _ that _ bad.”

Yerim let out a strangled whine as her eyes widened, “You took a picture of my best friend’s naked back on my bedroom  _ fucking _ floor! This is why both of you are now permanently BANNED from my house!” 

There was a minor commotion as Heejin choked on her sip of Sprite in surprise. Hyunjin jumped up  _ expeditiously _ to perform the Heimlich manoeuvre on Heejin, which caused her to bump into Chaewon whose yoghurt cup was knocked out of her hands by the force of Hyunjin backing into her. 

“ _ Not  _ the greek yoghurt!” Yerim cried as she watched the yoghurt run down the front of her shirt. Hyejoo unsuccessfully attempted to stifle her laughter as she shakily passed her some napkins from the other side of the benches. 

Hyunjin gasped, “OMG! I’m so sorry, Yerim! Let me just-” Hyunjin wiped at Yeri’s yoghurty shirt with a napkin, totally disregarding the presence of Yerim’s boob. Yerim winced as she awkwardly waited for Hyunjin to stop fussing over her before she declared a bathroom trip for herself, Heejin and Hyunjin. 

As the three of them walked away, Hyunjin and Heejin began bickering again as they sheepishly trailed behind Yerim who was doing a weird hunchback-esque walk to avoid having the feeling of smushed yoghurt all over her chest. “They look like a bunch of weirdos,” Hyejoo observed as she snickered at them. 

Chaewon jokingly pushed Hyejoo, “This is all your fault! I still can’t believe you took that photo!” She groaned and buried her face in her palms in embarrassment. 

“But you can’t deny it. The project was a success!”

“Fine. I still can’t believe Ms Bae gave you an A for that, though. I’m pretty sure she’s just-”

“What? She’s just wildly  _ in love _ with my natural flair for photography?”

Chaewon’s demure expression quickly contorted into a jealous frown as she averted her gaze from Hyejoo. “Aw, angry that someone else loves me more?” Hyejoo teased as she pinched Chaewon’s cheeks. The blonde turned away from Hyejoo, arms tightly crossed as she looked away defiantly. 

To be fair, Ms Bae had definitely fallen in love with her project. The art teacher was barely unable to contain herself as she gushed uncontrollably over Hyejoo’s project. Her eyes gleamed with admiration as she slowly flipped through the photo journal. Page upon page of amazingly well-framed photos, each one neatly labelled with a short artist’s statement handwritten in Hyejoo’s small loopy handwriting. “I hope you don’t mind, but I edited some of them a little in Lightroom. I suck at figuring out exposures,” Hyejoo admitted as she pointed out a few photos which had come out of development looking totally under-exposed. The older woman simply brushed her off, “If you hadn’t pointed it out, I might’ve completely missed it! Hyejoo! This is wonderful. You really did it. I really enjoyed seeing a balance of subjects in this and your framing was  _ perfect _ ! I can’t wait to show this to Ms Kan-” Ms Bae awkwardly cut herself short as she smiled tightly at Hyejoo before hastily slipping in another compliment and taking her leave. 

“You know, there was one idea that kinda floated around my mind for a minute. But I figured it would be a bad idea after Yerim found that picture of you,” Hyejoo coughed lightly as her eyes shifted, unable to look at Chaewon directly. 

Chaewon’s eyebrows furrowed as she perked up in curiosity, “What is it?”

“I was thinking maybe you could-” Hyejoo was interrupted mid-sentence by the bell. Getting up hastily from the cafeteria table, the taller girl raised an eyebrow at Chaewon. “I’ve got history now, got to go before Mr Jeong kills me. God, I hate that guy. I’ll text you about it when he starts to become extra boring,” Hyejoo rolled her eyes at the thought of having to see her annoying, judgemental history teacher.

\--

Chaewon was all but seven minutes into her free period when she heard her phone chirp on the table above her. She huffed as she balanced herself on one arm to sit up from her comfortable lying position on the bench. Her phone lit up to the lock screen of her and Hyejoo on one of their many amusement park dates as she scrolled through the notifications.

[Eight (8) New Texts from Two (2) Chats]

[Two (2) New Texts from baby daddy hyejoo <3]

‘hey history finally got boring’

‘anyways about the idea’

[Six (6) New Texts from the itty bitty titty committee]

‘captain hag: sup gays’

‘captain hag: cordially inviting all of u to my game next week’

‘captain hag: YCLA vs WSU’

‘captain hag: all ur wives can come lol’

‘captain hag: chaewon ur het friend too’

‘captain hag: be there or be square’

She tapped on the notification from Hyejoo.

<To: baby daddy hyejoo <3

‘tell me!’

>From: baby daddy hyejoo <3

‘was thinking of how hot u are and i was like but what if u were a cheerleader’

‘now that im thinking of it maybe this is because we binged glee together’

‘fuck brittana were the og’

‘yeah so what im trying to say is’

‘you in a cheerleading outfit’

‘hot’

<To: baby daddy hyejoo <3

‘ok so what ure saying is glee kink’

>From: baby daddy hyejoo <3

‘NO wtf dont say that again’

<To: baby daddy hyejoo <3

‘u are just denying the truth’

‘its ok i think britanna > me too’

‘ugh DESERVE tho they were the blueprint’

>From: baby daddy hyejoo <3

‘for the record u are hotter than them but’

‘stop trying to change the subject’

‘so…’

‘what do u think’

<To: baby daddy hyejoo <3

‘hmmmm’

‘hot i think’

‘im down haha’

‘ok wait but we dont have any cheerleading friends’

>From: baby daddy hyejoo <3

‘baby have u ever heard the phrase ‘be gay, do crime’?’

<To: baby daddy hyejoo <3

‘NO we r not stealing a cheerleaders outfit’

‘im too pretty to go to juvie’

‘hyejoo’

‘HYEJOOOOO’

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Chaewon threaded a hand through her blonde locks and switched over to her softball groupchat.

<chaewon

‘im here whats happening hag’

‘ever since u graduated its been so fun to call u hag to ur face’

‘i miss u captain hag!’

>captain hag

‘cant say im glad about that’

>jiwoOooOooO

‘SOOYOUNGGGGIEEEEEE’

‘omg yall playing against west state u? they r GOOD good’

>jungie

‘They’re good but they don’t have Sooyoung ;)’

‘We miss u Sooyoung’

‘I die every training without u’

>lil heejin

‘wtf u have me???’

>captain hag

‘aww jungeun ure going soft for me’

‘after 4 whole years’

‘better late than never i guess’

>jungie

‘Jeez is it that unbelievable’

‘You were my best friend’

>captain hag

‘WERE??? past tense?’

‘ive been living a lie’

>jungie

‘U know what i mean’

‘Actually what if i brought the whole team there for a learning journey?’

‘Sooyoung is that chill with u’

<chaewon

‘yes miss captain kim u go girl yes’

‘no weekend training more learning journeys’

‘this is how it should be’

>lil heejin

‘what she said’

>jiwoOooOooO

‘what she said (2)’

>captain hag

‘fuck i cant even make u guys run laps for that’

‘anyways yeah bring the team’

‘make sure u guys prepare a ‘we love sooyoung’ banner’

>jiwoOooOooO

‘no <3’

<chaewon

‘do hags deserve rights? discuss’

>lil heejin

‘dont u have a bingo session to attend or wtv’

‘u know bc ure old’

‘do u get it guys’

>jiwoOooOooO

‘yes but i wish i didnt’

>jungie

‘Gonna make the freshmen and sophomores make the Sooyoung banner’

‘Do u think 5 feet is big enough’

‘Haha feet’

<chaewon

‘toes’

>lil heejin

‘nope not again’

>captain hag

‘gross’

‘but i miss u gays’

‘see u soon’

\--

After two weeks of pleading and convincing, Hyejoo had finally managed to convince Chaewon to break into the cheerleaders’ locker room with her after hours. The two girls had hidden in the girls’ restroom for a good thirty minutes before they finally emerged from the restroom to carry out their plan. Over the course of the week, Hyejoo had somehow procured a key to the locker room along with a lockpicking kit just in case the key turned out to be a dud. 

In the silence, even their light footsteps seem to reverberate endlessly down the corridors. Chaewon followed Hyejoo down a series of winding staircases and classrooms until they reached the gymnasium at the opposite end of the campus. Hyejoo jerked a thumb towards the gymnasium, “Locker room’s in there. Actually, why do the cheerleaders get an indoor locker room?” 

Chaewon offered a shrug in response as she surveyed the gymnasium. “Okay, looking good! The only CCTV camera in here isn’t even connected. Jeez, the school really needs to secure the bag more often…” Hyejoo had hardly even stepped inside any of the school’s fitness facilities outside of her compulsory health education lessons. Even so, there was little that appealed to her in the realm of sports besides the thrill of being able to mercilessly incapacitate the boys that tried to hit on Chaewon during dodgeball. She had earned quite the reputation amongst her batch as a seasoned dodgeballer. 

There was a tiny  _ click _ as Hyejoo finally managed to stealthily unlock the door to the cheerleaders’ locker room after a little bit of a tussle with the locker room key. “Damn it, I knew I couldn’t trust that rat Amber,” Hyejoo complained as she slid the lockpicking set back into her hoodie’s front pocket. The cheerleaders’ locker room was way larger than the softball cage’s storage area and it even had its own attached showers. 

Chaewon’s mouth fell agape as she looked around the locker room in surprise. “OMG, they even have their own trophy case in here? What the hell?” Chaewon gasped as she laid a hand on the polished glass of the cheerleading team’s trophy case. Hyejoo hissed at her as she caught sight of the handprint on the glass, “Wipe that off! It’s evidence!”

While Chaewon was busy grumpily comparing the differences between the cheerleading team’s locker room and the softball team’s cage, Hyejoo had discovered the cheerleaders’ uniform storage closet. She waved Chaewon over, gesturing proudly at her find. 

“Now all we have to do is find one that is kinda in your size!” Hyejoo proclaimed as she riffled through the large collection of cheerleading outfits. 

Chaewon rested a hand on her hip as she tried to mentally visualise every cheerleader who was around her height. “Um, what about Yoojung from Class B?” She raised a hand to give herself a gauge of the other girl’s height. 

Hyejoo hummed, “Yeah, I think that’ll work…” Turning around, she quickly sorted through the uniforms and pulled Yoojung’s uniform out of the closet. “Here, try it on…” Hyejoo awkwardly passed the outfit to Chaewon as she turned away from the shorter girl.

“God, you’re so weird. Stop acting like you haven’t seen me undressed!” Chaewon rolled her eyes at Hyejoo’s weak attempt to pretend that she was busy changing some camera settings. The other girl started to blush, “I mean… It’s just weird for me to watch you change isn’t it?”

“Okay, suit yourself…” Chaewon shrugged as she slipped her clothes off and left them on a bench and shimmied the cheerleading outfit over her head. She tapped Hyejoo on the shoulder and pointed at her back. “Zip me up, Scotty!” She giggled awkwardly as Hyejoo groaned at her terrible joke. 

The other girl’s fingers felt cold on Chaewon’s exposed back as she pulled the seams of the outfit close together to zip them up. “Alright, done. I actually haven’t thought about, like, what I want you to do,” Hyejoo scratched her head as she looked around the locker room for some figment of an idea. 

“Ooo, have you seen that movie before? ‘ _ But I’m a Cheerleader _ ’ - It’s a lesbian classic,” Chaewon perked up as she looked at herself in the locker room’s full-length mirror. Hyejoo grunted a small sound of agreement as she quirked an eyebrow at Chaewon. 

“Yeah, what about it?”

“It’s like I’m Megan… Oh, to be a clueless yet raging homosexual obsessed with Melissa Etheridge and looking at titties in secret…” Chaewon dramatically cried as she raised a hand to her forehead. 

Hyejoo chuckled, “Who am I then? Emo, smirky Graham with the bad haircut?” She rolled her eyes as she playfully shoved Chaewon’s shoulder.

“Yeah and maybe Sooyoung can be whoever Rupaul was in that show. He was so irrelevant there,” Chaewon waved dismissively as she continued to strike dramatic poses in the mirror. 

Hyejoo leaned into Chaewon from behind, draping her arms over the blonde’s shoulders. “So what, am I supposed to be the girl who gives you an unforgettable sexual awakening through my unabashed lesbian-ry?”

“Y-Yeah?” Chaewon’s breath hitched as she felt the shadow of a touch glance over her chest and come to rest at her waist. “Hmm, okay. I see…” Hyejoo let out a satisfied scoff as she pulled away and slung her camera around her neck.

Hyejoo gestured at the benches in front of them, “Try laying on these like on your side? Or maybe your front?” Chaewon let out a shaky breath as she climbed onto the benches, lying on her front. She let her chin rest in her palm as she struck a nonchalant expression and raised an eyebrow at the camera. 

“Wait, are we going with  _ sexy, intimidating cheerleader  _ or  _ cute, wholesome cheerleader _ ? Give me something to work with!” Chaewon huffed as she adjusted her pose and effortlessly flipped her hair to the side. 

Hyejoo looked up from the viewfinder of the camera and squinted at the blonde, “Just give me whatever you feel like today, I guess. How do you feel?” Her tone was teasing as she raised an eyebrow at Chaewon who was developing a pink tint on her cheeks. 

The blonde lifted her torso off the bench and tucked her knees beneath her as she leaned up to hook her arms around Hyejoo and pull her closer. “How do you think I feel?” She pulled Hyejoo down to the bench and sat in her lap, legs on either side of the other girl’s thighs. 

“Yeah, alright. Message received loud and clear…”Hyejoo breathed out as she licked her lips. 

Abruptly, Chaewon hopped off of Hyejoo’s lap and let out a loud exaggerated sigh. She readjusted her top and smoothed out the skirt as she carefully tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Why? Cat’s got your tongue? We haven’t got all night…” 

Chaewon raised her eyebrow as she pivoted around and began to make her way towards a rack of pompoms. “Get your shots in… Then we can get around to something much more exciting,” her voice edged on a purr as she picked up a pair of pompoms and shook them mockingly at a speechless Hyejoo. 

“Park Chaewon… You’re unbelievable.”

\--

Jungeun heaved out a sigh of disbelief as she listened to Chaewon describe the luxuries of the cheerleading team’s locker room. Connected personal showers, an enormous trophy case, freshly-painted lockers with working locks,  _ air conditioning _ ? She shook her head as she thought about the sad state of the softball cage and winced as she thought about the mouldy showers they had to share with the girls’ football team. 

“I wish that was me…” Jungeun whispered as her eyes practically gleamed at the thought of having the showers all to herself after training for once. Suddenly, her eyes lit up as she cocked her head at Chaewon. “Wait, how the hell do you know this? None of your friends is even remotely close to the cheerleading team,” Jungeun’s eyes narrowed as she gave the junior a suspicious look. 

Chaewon let out a strangled chuckle as her eyes darted around nervously. “Just take it from a well-meaning junior that you should definitely ask the school for a little bit more budget to make the cage look a lil’ nicer. Between you and me, I think we’ve all smelled enough sweaty socks for an entire lifetime…” Chaewon shivered as she thought about the permanent stench which permeated every corner of the cage. 

“Good call…” Jungeun patted Chaewon on the back as she nodded sullenly in agreement. 

Just at that moment, Heejin came running into the cage. “Ugh, Jungeun! Where have you been? I’ve been trying to get the freshmen and sophomores to get the banner and hop on the bus lickety-split but they’re taking forever! I hate it here!” Heejin panted, hands on her knees as she wiped beads of sweat away from her forehead. 

Jungeun nodded firmly and ran out of the cage quickly, grumbling loudly about the ridiculous banner that Sooyoung had demanded as she did so. 

“Bet you think you’re smart for hiding that stupid ass date from Jungeun, huh?” Heejin huffed as she wiggled her eyebrows at Chaewon. 

“You heard that? You’re the  _ worst _ !” Chaewon wheezed as she squeezed her eyes shut in despair. Yerim must have complained about them to Heejin again. 

Heejin chuckled as she pulled Chaewon along with her. “Oh whatever, it’s not even a big deal. Wait till you see the banner they did for Sooyoung! They didn’t even spell her college’s name properly!”

“How hard is it to misspell ‘Yves College of Liberal Arts’? There’s not a single difficult word in it…” Chaewon mumbled as she followed Heejin out the cage. 

\--

Their ex-captain had always been proud of her perfect 20/20 vision. When she spotted them from across the field, Sooyoung had dropped her helmet to run across the field to them. Pulling her best friends into a tight hug, she rubbed their backs warmly. The five girls smiled into their embrace as they all ruffled Sooyoung’s hair and admired her lanky frame for the first time in months.

“Hey, you sexy motherfucker! I missed you!” Jungeun shoved Sooyoung jokingly in the shoulder as she beamed at the taller girl. Jiwoo was still holding onto Sooyoung’s waist tightly as Heejin drawled on about how she was so happy to see Sooyoung again. Chaewon shivered in excitement as she looked around the field for Hyejoo, who was supposed to be taking photos on behalf of the YCLA softball team.

“Chae, your girlfriend is in the locker room with the team. She’s taking shots of them warming up for the match. Now, stop being a simp and get in here!” Sooyoung rolled her eyes as she extended a hand to Chaewon. 

Frowning as she grumpily let out a huff of air, she wrapped her arms around Sooyoung and was fondly reminded of all the times she had spent with her best friends on the field. 

“You know I miss you, right?” Chaewon whispered.

Sooyoung let out a warm scoff, “Of course. Who wouldn’t?”

\--

Unfortunately, softball games were never allocated half-time breaks. Fortunately, this meant Chaewon could watch Hyejoo run up and down the length of the field with her camera for the entire game. Every now and then, Hyejoo would even turn around and zoom into Chaewon before snapping a quick shot and turning back to follow the game.

“Do y’all ever take a break?” Jiwoo yawned as she watched CHaewon’s eyes dart up and down the field, following Hyejoo. 

Chaewon pouted at Jiwoo, “I’m watching the game!”

Jungeun let out a snort, “Okay, in that case, I’ll be expecting you to recap all the plays YCLA has used today in our next session. Thanks Chae.”

Chaewon sighed loudly as she buried her head in her palms. To be fair, she had definitely kept tabs on Sooyoung as well. It was impossible not to watch while Sooyoung was about to step up to the plate. So far, Sooyoung had already managed to make two home runs and she seemed set on helping her team score another. 

“I forgot how scary Sooyoung was on the field…” Heejin whispered to Chaewon as her mouth contorted into a weird scowl. “Right?” Chaewon nodded fervently in agreement.

Just as Sooyoung stepped up to the plate again, she turned around and did a tiny salute in their direction.

“Ugh, I forgot how cheesy she was too.”

\--

Chaewon was supervising the freshmen in hoisting the ‘We Love Sooyoung’ banner when she suddenly felt a hand on her back. She jumped and spun around, coming face to face with Hyejoo.

“Oh my god, you scared me. Look at this ugly banner!” She made a face as she gestured at the haphazardly painted banner which had a cut out of Sooyoung’s face on it. Hyejoo stifled a laugh as she pointed her thumb at the bleachers.

“Looks like a drag, wanna go find something better to do?”

Chaewon sighed as her lips curled into a smirk. 

“Anything as long as it doesn’t involve us stealing a cheerleader outfit from YCLA. Wait, unless?”

Hyejoo only flashed her a mischievous grin as she locked their hands together and pulled Chaewon along behind her.

Chaewon could only think one thing.

“ _ Fuck. I’m going to juvie! _ ” 

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading this! hope you enjoyed it thoroughly and caught the silly movie reference i included? trying my best to update the main fic soon too :]
> 
> and see you soon!


End file.
